2016 FREDDY Awards Seek Evaluators

The State Theatre Center for the Arts, Inc. is seeking qualified Evaluators for their Emmy Award winning FREDDY Awards program, which honors excellence in the production of high school musical theatre. The program runs from January to May.

Introduced in 2003, the program sends a panel of six official Evaluators to review each of the approximately 30 high school musical productions entered throughout Lehigh and Northampton Counties in PA, and in Warren County, NJ. Evaluators submit evaluation forms in 21 performance and production categories (i.e. Outstanding Performance by an Actor/Actress in a Leading Role, Outstanding Use of Scenery). Nominations are announced in early May and followed in late May with a Tony Awards style ceremony at the State Theatre where nominees perform and award recipients are announced and presented with a FREDDY Award.

We are looking for candidates who have extensive work experience in one of the arts disciplines and have a strong sense of objectivity. They must be able to effectively evaluate student performances and production values. All candidates must be outstanding writers with the ability to effectively communicate their impressions in a constructive manner. Also, a candidate must already be an avid theatre-goer and should possess a wide knowledge of the canon of the American Musical Theatre.

All new Evaluators must have an email address to receive communications and have access to a computer to submit online performance reports. In the interest of privacy, the use of personal home computers to fill out online evaluation forms is required. Only applicants with computer literacy and internet access will be considered. In addition, all Evaluators are required to attend an Orientation meeting on Tuesday, January 19, 2016 @ 7:00pm. All candidates must be available and willing to commit to attending at least 5 high school musicals as an official Evaluator during the course of the competition. Evaluators are also expected to attend a minimum of 9 shows in an unofficial capacity for a total of 14 shows (minimum) seen during the season. We highly recommend, for the sake of the process and fairness to schools involved, Evaluators see more than the 14 show minimum to be better prepared for the final voting session. Lastly, applicants must attend the mandatory Final Evaluator Meeting on Tuesday, May 17, 2016 @ 7:00pm. We are also looking to hold an Evaluator Training Session some time in November or early December. (Date to be confirmed at a later time)

For additional information, contact Frank Kutch, FREDDY Awards Coordinator at fkutch@statetheatre.org, or call 610-258-7766 x202.